Surgery remains an option for Mets closer Bobby Parnell, who is on the disabled list with a herniated disc in his neck.

Parnell told The Star-Ledger Wednesday that the last two weeks of therapy have gone well and he remains optimistic he can return this season. But doctors have told him he would need to undergo surgery if isn’t healthy enough to return in three weeks – six weeks after the injury occurred.

If he does need the surgery, he is unsure how long he would need to recover, but if he waits until mid-September it would surely end his season.

“If it was a disc job, I’d be back in two weeks,” Parnell said. “But the doctors I’ve talked to so far aren’t really baseball guys, or athletic guys, so they can’t really give me a me a timetable.

“Right now, just going the therapy route, trying to get better and trying to get educated as much as possible with all the surgery stuff if that has to happen.”

Parnell was enjoying a career year before he began feeling pain in his neck the end of July. He was initially shelved for a few games but the discomfort continued before doctors discovered the disc injury and he was placed on the disabled list August 2.

In his first full season as a closer, Parnell compiled 22 saves and a 2.16 earned-run average. LaTroy Hawkins has been Parnell's primary replacement as the closer. He has five saves in six chances.